-By Warner Todd Huston
Hollywood filmmakers are ruminating about taking on the 2008 political season. Towering personalities, scintillating stories, and epic clashes abound. The stories of the 2008 political campaign are pretty stimulating. We had the aging Democratic establishment in the form of the Clintons taking on the fresh young face in Obama, not to mention the first black candidate of note. We also had a close fought Democratic primary that went to a nail biting finish. On the GOP side we had the amazing emergence of the hockey mom from Alaska. Heartwarming family woman, popular governor, tender mother of a special needs child. A self-made woman from humble beginnings. Seems like some stories that could make for some compelling movies, eh?
So, how is Hollywood looking to treat these incredible stories? Would you be surprised that the Clintons and Obama stories are set for high drama, earnestly told… and Palin’s is for comedy and satire? Would it shock you that only Sarah Palin is to be ripped, attacked, made fun of and satirized? I didn’t think you would.
The New York Post had a Page Six report with a few short quotes from various Hollyweird screenwriters on the subject of which 2008 political campaign story would make a good movie. Naturally, all these people could see out of Governor Sarah Palin’s incredible story was something to ridicule.
“I’m always down for politics as humor,” “Milk” scripter Dustin Lance Black told Variety, adding, “I’m also interested in great characters.”
Tom McCarthy, who wrote “The Visitor,” is more interested in the tale of hockey-playing hunk Levi Johnston, who knocked up Palin’s daughter Bristol.
“This young man gets his girlfriend pregnant and ends up on the Republican platform at the National Convention,” McCarthy said. “This 17-year-old kid from Alaska, standing on the stage – there’s a dark comedy in there somewhere. He was like a deer in the headlights.”
As an aside, I have to laugh about the first quote above from Black, the screenwriter of “Milk.” This guy may be “interested in great characters” but he is in no way interested in the truth. His screenplay for “Milk” is one of the biggest pack of lies ever filmed. Little of what he wrote there happened in real life, at least where it concerns Harvey Milk’s real personality and the regard with which people held him during his tumultuous lifetime.
In any case, it isn’t surprising that Palin is the one that these “entertainers” want to slam Palin. And the other political stories of the season. Naturally Hillary and Bill’s “great relationship” came in for one screenwriter’s focus and the Obama grassroots effort seemed amazing to another. Only Palin came in for ridicule.
What we have here is further proof of Hollywood’s hatred of the average American and its disconnect from the majority of the country. Many millions of people in this country found Sarah Palin to be a breath of fresh air and look forward to seeing her further her political career. Yet what does her name evoke in Hollyweird? Nothing but snide comments and attacks.
They are far outside of the mainstream in Hollywood. Far outside of it.
(Photo credit: thealaskastandard.com)
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Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as newsbusters.org, Human Events Magazine, townhall.com, New Media Journal, Men’s News Daily and the New Media Alliance among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events. He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of publiusforum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston
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